Laundry net closure



Jan. 1, 1946. w. D. ELLIS ET AL LAUNDRY NET CLOSURE Filed March 25, 1943 wmm Patented Jan. 1, 1946 LAUNDRY NET CLOSURE William 1). Ellis, Atlanta, Ga., and Frederic Thesmar, Memphis, Tenn., assignors to Southern Mills, Incorporated, Atlanta, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Application March 25, 1943, Serial No. 480,542

. 2 Claims.

Thisinvention relates generally to containers in which articles of clothing and the like are laundered and more particularly to improved means for securely closing the open end of such containers. 1

'- One method of commercially laundering articles comprises subjecting the articles to laundering operations while contained in open 'meshfabric containers or bags. These bags are commonly known as laundry nets, and this term will be employed hereinafter to designate such containers. The primary purpose of this method of laundering is to prevent the clothing of one customer becoming mixed with another and to assure this, the open end of the net must be secured in a manner to withstand the treatment the filled net receives in the laundering operation. To identify them, each filled net is marked by meansofa system of legending or numbering which-desig nates the owner of its contents. This legending must be applied to the net so that it will not become detached and preferably so that it is readily visible tofacilitate' assorting the nets of laundry after washing. a

Various methods of closing the open end of the nets have been employed, such as by pinning up with a large safety pin or by gathering in the top of the bag and securing it with a piece of string or cord wrapped and tied around the neck. The pinning method proved relatively satisfactory insofar as it kept the contents of the net intact, however, the life of the net was materially reduced due to the fact that the threads composing the mesh which were engaged by the pin were often pulled and stressed beyond their elastic limit.

Tying, as outlined above, on the other hand, has proved entirely unsatisfactory. In the first place, the neck of the net had to be tied extremely tight in order to maintain the binding cord in place and to prevent the rim of the net from pulling through the bending cord. Then again, after the tied net of clothes had been washed, the binding cord shrank and its knot compacted so tightly it became impossible to remove the binding by any means other than by cutting the cord. However, since the cord had shrunk and become so closely engaged with the net it was diiiicult, if not impossible, to even cut the cord without also cutting at least some of the threads composing the net.

. -It is therefore one of the principal objects or the present invention to provide means for tying m the end ,of a au r netwh h w l v m intai the net closed during the handling the net receives during the laundering operations;

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure device for laundry nets which mayzbe quickly and easily applied and also quickly; and easily removed from the net. 1' v;

Yet another object is to provide means for closing the open end of laundry nets which substantially equalize strains imposed on the threads comprising the fabric mesh of the net durin laundering operations. I A further object is to provide means for binding the gathered-in open end of a laundrynet which readily adapts itself to the desired amount of binding necessary. for difierent conditions.

A still further object of the invention. is to provide a closure for laundry nets having the above advantages and which is virtually indestructible.

Other objects and advantages will become-apparent from the following description and byreference to the accompanying drawing which is employed for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawing: a a

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a filled laundry net about to be closed preparatory to laundering its contents.

Figure 2 is a similar view showin the net with its open end closed in accordance with the'concept of this invention.

Figure 3 is a'fragmental cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view in perspective of my closure device illustrating one method of applying the binding cord when securing the gathered-in open end of the laundry net.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but illustrating the opposite side of the plug member.

Figure 6 is a View in perspectivalwith parts broken away, illustrating a modified method of applying the binding cord when securing the open end of the bag.

Figure '7 is a view in perspective showing-the side of the plug opposite that shown in Figure 6. Figure 8 is a fragmental cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Figure 5 looking in the direction of the arrows- Figure 9 is a fragmental longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 9 9 of Figure 4 look ing in the direction of the arrows.

Referring in more detail to the drawing, Figure 1 illustrates a filled laundry net which is constructed preferably of an open mesh fabric and comprises a tubular wall .I preferably'having a art such as in its construction, arrangement of parts, size, shape, and so forth, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A closure device for a fabric laundry net, said net having an open end capable of being constricted, comprising a plug member having a reduced mid-section and adapted to be positioned within the open end of the net, a binding cord having one of its ends permanently secured to the plug member, a knot formed in the cord, said cord adapted to be passed about the net, when constricted, to draw the fabric of the net into engagement with the mid-section of the lug member, a slot formed in the plug member for reception of the cord, and a socket cooperating with the slot and adapted to receive said knot thereby to prevent accidental removal of the cord from said slot.

by those skilled in the 2. A closure device for a fabric laundry net, said net having an open end capable of being constricted comprising a plug member having a reduced mid-section and adapted to be positioned within the open end of the net, a bindingcord having one of its ends permanently secured to the plug member, a plurality of knots formed in the cord, said cord adapted to be passed about the net, when constricted, to draw the fabric of the net into engagement with the mid-section of the plug member, a slot formed in the plug member for reception of the cord, and a socket cooperating with the slot and adapted to receive one of said knots thereby to prevent accidental removal of the cord from said slot.

WILLIAM D. ELLIS. FREDERIC THESMAR. 

